PAL records longest non-stop flight by a Philippine-based carrier

Philippine Airlines has set another milestone in its history after the airline flew a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from Manila to Miami non-stop, now setting the record for the longest non-stop flight ever set by a Philippine-carrier.

The PAL Boeing 777-300ER in Miami! Photo credits: @Starallianceman (IG) and Aviation Philippines

PR5112 from Manila to Miami was special flight to repatriate Filipino seafarers from Miami back to Manila with a technical stop at Los Angeles. So basically, PR5112 was a repositioning flight, and Miami was never in PAL's destination list.

Based on great circle distance, Manila to Miami is around 9,314 mi. The average range of the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is 7,370 mi. So how was this done? Well since this was a repositioning flight, the aircraft was virtually empty. At the same time, tail winds were at the flight's favor, allowing it to fly the distance! However, this will not be the same for the return flight to Manila as the Boeing jet will already be carrying passengers and will be flying westward. Hence, the need for the aircraft to make a technical stop at Los Angeles.

However, PAL's longest scheduled non-stop commercial flight is still its Manila to New York JFK flights utilizing and Airbus A350-900. It is also the 8th longest non-stop scheduled flight in the world.

Notes:

• Contrary to our earlier report, PAL 5112 from Manila to Miami is not the world's longest non-stop 777 flight. A Pakistan International Airways B777-200LR flew from Hong Kong to London eastward, crossing two oceans.
• Based on the list of longest 777-300ER flights, the recent PAL MNL-JFK non-stop special flights (PR5126) have been the one recorded for the type of aircraft although, a Virgin Australia recently flew from Brisbane to Paris non-stop using the same type of aircraft.
• There has been a long debate about 'longest flights'. Some say only scheduled flights should be counted, some say that flight duration should be factored in, and some say that non-regular routes should not be counted and only those which follow the great circle distance, and so much more. Nevertheless, we are still proud of PAL's achievement of pushing the 777-300ER this far.